Insert Another Classic War Story Here
by gdouglas56
Summary: As the Author and the ACMSES went on their desperate attempt to rescue Doug in the MW2 fandom, Aryan and the PCMSPS are planning something that will keep the Society's hands full for a long time...RnR
1. SSDD

**Insert Another Classic War Story Here**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Modern Warfare 2 or the ACMSES**

**A/N: The first and last multi-chapter fic for Doug. Hope you enjoy it.**

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Chapter 1: SSDD

"Warning! Warning! Personnel, please stand clear of the bay. Portal receiving returning personnel in five...four...," wailed the warning siren in the portal bay area. Red alarm lights flickered in the relatively dim environment as the blast doors opened, revealing a blue,glowing portal behind it. Guards began to march out of the area as ground crews prepared their fire extinguishers and hoses. Silence grew as the computers counted down.

"three...two...one...zero."

A helicopter appeared from the portal; its body scratched and riddled with bullet holes. Its main rotor was still spinning, giving a 'WOOSH!' as it cut through the air, trying to remain airborne. The helicopter crashed and gorge into the ground, sliding on the bay area. Ground crews who were apparently in the way of the crashing chopper ran off to avoid getting hit. Metal over metal screeched as the helicopter stopped just metres from the control tower. The ground crew then immediately raced towards the downed helicopter, spraying fire retardant foam to prevent the vehicle from exploding. The shield door began to close when suddenly, a missile flew through and hit the ceiling.

**BOOM!**

It blew up some piping and wiring, causing the ceiling lights to flicker. The ground crews jumped when the sound reached their ears; looking up in both curiosity and shock; they gasped as sparks rained down to the ground.

"Oh shit!" yelled one of the crew, quickly sidestepping to avoid a piece of shrapnel. He glanced over to find his comrades doing the similar movements as debris rained down like hail. The dust settled, leaving a pile of rubble. A mini-excavator mopped it up as the crews pried open the doors of the helicopter with foam all over its body. James crawled out, giving a little call for help.

"We've got survivors!" roared a crew member, and medics ran towards the crashed helicopter. The medics quickly got to work; they looked into the helicopter wreckage. James and Yee Lin were among the living, followed by two Guards. The two pilots and several other Guards didn't make it. The medics grabbed them and lifted them in stretchers, rushing to the infirmary in the base.

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The Author was taking a few blinks in his office when a knock resonated into the room. The Author jerked up, causing him to lose balance and fall off his chair. He grabbed hold of the desk, lifting himself up while scratching his head, shifting the mess of paper and dropping some on the ground. After some grumbling, he announced for the person to enter.

The door opened, allowing a rare sunlight to fill the darkness of the space. He squinted through his tired eyes, looking at the figure that approached his desk. He rubbed them, and his sight cleared up. Vespin, one of his characters, reached his desk and stood firmly.

"James and his team came back with heavy casualties, managing to retrieve intel on Doug's location,"spoke Vespin.

"How heavy?" was the Author's first question. Vespin lowered her head and replied.

"James, Yee Lin and two Guards survived with heavy injuries; the pilots and another four didn't make it." The Author let out an annoyed grunt, grabbing his chair and taking a seat. He rubbed his tired face and rested his head on his hands. He knew that his nemesis would go to great lengths to stop him from getting his character back; but he never anticipated this much. Now it has taken its toll on him and his troops.

His soldiers had been dying everyday since he launched a rescue operation into the 'Modern Warfare 2' fandom. He wondered how he was going to explain to the populace of the Kingdom, a nation of his creation, for the loss of their family members in this long battle. His troops began to demoralize, most of his Wanderers were placed into hospital beds; the main source of morale for his troops, and finally, a nation in doubt of its governance.

"Author?" spoke Vespin. The Author broke his train of thought and faced his character.

"What do you have?" inquired the Author.

"James acquired intel from the enemy's computer; Doug's final destination is in the level 'The Gulag'," answered Vespin. The Author knew this mission; he played it before. But to get to it, he had to complete the mission before, 'The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday'. He knew that this oil rig mission is going to take a heavy toll on his troops before even reaching Doug. He might as well do it; if he didn't do that mission before, he would see his army falling out of the skies. He has decided; he would no longer be holding back.

"Get Terry and Ivan to assemble a team and clear that level. Rina, Maddie and Lydia will be on standby in the next level. I want them cleaning out the outer walls of the 'Gulag' when Ingrid and the Society arrive."

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Ingrid paced to the Tash's office to present the latest information on Doug's whereabouts, gripping the brown file in her hand tightly. She reached the door and knocked.

"Come in," said a voice. She opened the door and headed for the leader's desk. Tash signed the last piece of paperwork and put it onto the 'Out' stack, and then looking up Ingrid.

"Oh, Ingrid. Any news?" questioned Tash.

"Yes, we found him," said Ingrid, handing a brown file. Tash took and opened it, reading the contents.

"Modern Warfare 2, 'The Gulag'. Expecting heavily armed PCMSPS troops to guard the facility...he seems out of reach to me," commented Tash.

"The Author will be clearing a path," replied Ingrid.

"And it will be up to us to retrieve him. How much do you know this game?" questioned Tash, setting the file on her desk.

"Enough to survive it," replied Ingrid.

"Good. You're leading the charge. I'll get the meeting up right away."

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"Okay guys, here's the situation," said Ingrid, feeling a bit timid in front of the entire Society. The projector screen showed a mission from Modern Warfare 2, specifically named 'The Gulag'. A map layout of the entire castle-like gulag appeared on the screen, followed by videos of the mission undertaken during the game's storyline.

"As you can see, it's quite dangerous even for the in-game characters. And for the PCMSPS army and Aryan to congregate at such a dangerous place," explained Ingrid as she pressed a few keys and a video feed from the Wanderer's server flowed into the projector screen. It showed destruction and carnage, fires breaking from wreckages of downed helicopters. Some gasped, some stared, some remarked while others remained unaffected.

"Our Author's Wanderers and his troops have gone life and limb to get this information. So let's help them get Doug back," said Ingrid. The Society Agents broke out into furious bouts of whispering, and a hesitant hand was raised.

"I'll go," said Rhia. The Agents turned and looked at her complete surprise. Cristoph could be seen trying to talk her out of it, for which she responded that she would be okay with it.

"Well, someone with experience should go. Isn't that right, Ben?" stated Rhia, turning the Agents attention to Ben. Ben shrugged and replied.

"Yeah, sure. I've known Doug for a long time now, and I say we need to get him back."

"Yeah, we'll go too. Isn't that right, Karissa?" asked Charis as she looked at her sister. Karissa was staring blankly into space, so Charis nudged her for her attention.

"Huh?...oh, right, yeah," responded Karissa. Charis glanced at her sister disappointingly, folding her arms.

"I'll go too. I need to get myself worked out," said Kyle, stretching his arms.

"I'm bored and I need my fill. Count me in," said Ossa, looking very bored.  
"I need to clear my head," said Jess, who in previous weeks, hadn't been in a good mood.

"I need some action. Count me in," said Tom.

"Every team needs a medic...or healer...or whatever you call them there," said Valerie.

"It's settled then," said Tash. "All of you get geared up. We're going in quick, and we're coming out just as fast." The assembled team nodded and walked out of the meeting room. Both the leaders looked on, silently praying for the Agents' safety.

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"Is the Author over-watching this mission?" asked Ben, curious of the possibility of extra eyes on the mission.

"Most likely no," replied Ingrid. "He's probably tired himself out searching for Doug."

"Oh," responded Ben. They reached the armoury which used to be Doug's lab and slid a key card on the door's security mechanism. The device blinked green and Ingrid opened the door. The armoury was much smaller than it used to be, only having weapon racks with stocked weapons and explosives. She headed to the vault at the end of the armoury and punched in a numeric code. The locks sounded, and Ingrid opened the vault. Racks of devices that looked pretty sci-fi were found in the vault.

"This was a collaboration between Doug and Jared on Jared's 'riot gear' idea. They called it, 'The Plot Armour Project'," said Ingrid as she pulled out the equipment. A lot of these were familiar Society gadgets; Anachron device, BLAMs, Plothole Generators, etc.

"This is a non-Newtonian armour aka liquid armour. The researchers back in Real Life have yet to crack it, but we already have. When a high-velocity charged object, a bullet for example, nears the armour, the liquid solidifies, forming the armour while maintaining its light weight," explained Ingrid as she took out the armour that looked like a normal Kevlar vest. It had pockets that were clearly labelled so that precious time will be saved from searching.

"Anybody like to try it?" announced Ingrid. The Agents turned to each other looking to find one who would volunteer to wear something foreign over them. Then a hand popped up.

"I'll try it up," stated Ossa bluntly. Ingrid handed the armour and Ossa grabbed it. She slipped the armour over her head and it suddenly tightened around her body. She gave a faint yelp of surprise.

"Okay...I didn't expect that," remarked Ossa.

"It fits all sizes. Thank Jared for that," said Ingrid, handing out the rest of the liquid armour to the Agents.

"However, fair warning though. I'd keep it away from bladed weapons," stated Ingrid while looking at Ossa's katana.

"So it's useless?" remarked Ossa.

"Well, if it was too useful, we would be immediately elevated to Sueishness, and costs will be deemed inappropriate. That's where the Ray Shield steps in," explained Ingrid while taking out a silver bracelet from the drawer.

"Works like a riot shield. It should be able to defend almost anything except during EMP strikes. Those who don't like gore, blunt trauma from it should work too," explained Ingrid as she handed a few out. The Agents tried out the deploying their shields and wielding them in front as if an attack was coming towards them.

"Okay...each of you get an Anachron device," said Ingrid, handing the devices.

"The side effect has not yet been solved, so use as last resort," explained Ingrid. Charis could still remember when Doug used it the first time; he was shrunk to a six-inch tall figure for a week. They wrapped it around their wrists while Ingrid gave each of them a GPS locator.

"These are GPS locators. They help you locate your position multiverse-wide. Right now it's showing the infinity sign. That's where the Library is," explained Ingrid. Then she handed a hardened laptop to Charis.

"This one was specifically modified to track our locations and our life status," said Ingrid. Charis nodded and stuck it to her back. Ingrid then took out an item wrapped in brown canvas cloth from the bottom rack and unwrapped it. It was an M14 EBR sniper rifle, and Ingrid gave it to Rhia.

"My Author would appreciate it if you accept this gift," said Ingrid.

"Tell him I said thanks," replied Rhia as she slung the new rifle to her back.

"You can morph any weapon from your Omni-weapon, right?" asked Ingrid.

"Yup," replied Kyle. Ingrid just handed him a load of ammo for him to use. Kyle put some into his Kevlar pockets while the rest was placed in his Astral vault.

"Ready?" asked Ingrid. The Agents just gave an affirmative nod. The plothole formed in front of them and they jumped through it.

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"Be advised! These guys are step up! They're using thermals to see through the smoke!" announced Terry as he hid behind the containers atop an oil platform. Smoke filled the area between the building and the containers, making a blind charge into the smoke a risky decision. Terry, Ivan and their team of Guards were laying siege to make way for the air calvary to pass through, since the rig has been turned into an anti-air missile site and in the way of the support force. Furthermore, the PCMSPS troops took the drill workers hostage so they wouldn't be able to blow the rig wholesale.

Ivan ran up the stairs and ran to another container opposite Terry. A bullet whizzed past Ivan's head, causing him to trip and fall as he ducked for cover. He then got back up, and stayed where he was. Terry tried to peek through the corners, but a hail bullets zoomed towards his position. He immediately drew his head back as the bullets ricocheted on the container, streaking sparks and dents on the dull surface. Ivan took a deep breath as he neared the edge of his hiding spot. He then quickly peeked out and aimed through his thermal scope, watching hostiles on the second floor shining as brightly as the sun on a cloudless day. He pulled the trigger a few times; the second floor was cleared. The rest of the Guards managed to reach their team leaders and took cover. They took out the rest of the enemies on the ground, making sure no one was in the blanket of smoke to surprise them once they're in. Once the area was cleared, the two Wanderers and their Guard teams went through the blinding smoke and approached the two doors of the building, preparing to breach.

"Ready?" announced Terry on the radio.

"Ready." Ivan confirmed his status. Terry planted a frame charge on the door and stood aside. The frame charge detonated, blasting the door apart and sending splinters into the room. Terry entered the room first, seeing the enemies preparing to assassinate the seated, blindfolded hostages. He acted fast, pulling the trigger and aiming his weapon at different enemies at the same time. Just as he cleared his section of the room, Ivan finished his, and they both just realized that the place was rigged with explosives. It sent shivers down their spines; they would both probably be dead if they weren't careful enough. The Guards entered the room and released the hostages, taking them out to the helipad outside. The Guards brought the hostages into the helicopter, extracting them from the location once and for all. Another helicopter arrived; Terry and Ivan got on to it as a soldier handed both of them winter ghillie suits. They suited up and heard a command from the radio.

"The Guards will disable the SAM sites. Approach to phase two of the mission," said the feminine voice on the radio.

"Copy that, Vespin," replied Terry as he sat on the doorway on the left side of the helicopter. Ivan then sat by next to him, patting him on the back.

"Won't be long, Terry. Won't be long...," comforted Ivan. Terry nodded as he watched other helicopters hover above the oil rig, dropping troops to disable the defences. Terry sighed in content as he looked over the vast ocean beneath him and the sun piercing at the break of day, with the drones of the flying machines heading towards their next objective.

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**A/N: Rate and review the first of the five chapters. Enjoy.**


	2. The Gulag

**Insert Another Classic War Story Here**

**A/N: Thanks to complexities, Hakurei Ryuu, James Firebrand, Lord Monbodo, RedemptionWarrior, Isis the Sphinx, Here for the Twister and Ossa for betaing their characters and this fic.**

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Chapter 2: The Gulag

It was a quiet early morning. The blue ocean glittered as the sun's rays touched its surface, the birds glided as the wind blew from the north, icebergs floated by with a polar bear climbing onto one. The drones of flying machines broke the silence of that very morning.

"ETA 30 seconds. Get ready," announced Terry on the radio. He watched the other helicopters, a total of three transport choppers and one gunship, flying in formation for attack. Ivan was finishing his bottle of beer and tossed it, once empty, into the ocean below; Terry just shook his head when Ivan gave a questioning look. Two more jets suddenly flew into the formation, and the pilots in the cockpits gave thumb ups at the occupants of the helicopter.

"Delta-Four-One, this is Charlie-Six-Bravo, flight of two F-18s, four HARMs for the section. Standby for SEAD, over," reported the jets.

"Solid copy, Charlie. Go get 'em," replied the pilots in the helicopters. The jets sped up a little, their exhaust flames turning from light blue to clear purple.

"Good tone. Good tone. Magnum. Magnum." Two missiles per aircraft dropped from the tip of their wings. The rocket engines fired up, and they rocketed to a radio tower at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the shore.

**BOOM!**

The missiles blew the rock face to smithereens as the jets pulled out of the formation, turning the tower into a twisted heap of metal.

"Good kill. Good kill. Delta-Four-One, you're clear all the way. Good luck," said the pilot in one of the jets.

A dark plume of smoke from the resulting explosion rose up to the sky, which the helicopters flew through. A castle could be seen in the distance, and they were getting closer and closer. The gunship that was behind the transport helicopters moved forward, its nose-mounted minigun spooling.

"Four going in hot," said the pilot of the gunship as it increased its altitude from below the transports to above.

"Copy that," replied the pilot of one of the transports.

"Guns guns guns. Guns guns guns," reported the gunship as it let out a burst of rounds from its minigun towards the main watchtower at one edge of the castle. After obliterating the watchtower, the transport helicopters hovered around the castle, with its occupants pointing their guns out at the castle guards. The guards were hastily running on the castle walls, trying to activate the dormant anti-air missile defences on each of the ancient towers.

"Stabilize. All snipers – clear to engage," spoke Terry on the radio. The snipers fired shots on the castle guards, taking out the resistance before they could retaliate. Once the initial wave of guards had been eliminated, the transport helicopters edged over the castle walls and dropped ropes. The insertion force rappelled down the ropes, taking position on the castle walls and clearing the ground of enemies. That was when the plothole opened.

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The Agents emerged out of the plothole onto a helipad, immediately stunned by the chaos caused by the insertion force invading the castle. Further guards came out of the inner castle entrance, firing their automatic weapons at the Agents. The Agents quickly deployed their ray shields, blocking enemy gunfire. But since the attack had been so sudden, they each still stood a distance away from each other. The deafening bullets caused some Agents to flinch.

"I didn't expect to be attacked this early on!" remarked Kyle; he was being pushed back by the sheer volume of gunfire he received. Ingrid stepped forward and blocked the bullets for him while he regained his composure.

"Huddle up and form a wall! Our defences will be better that way!" yelled Tom behind Ingrid, over the noise of ricocheting bullets. The Agents immediately agreed, getting together and forming a wall. Now that they were together, they could better formulate a plan for attack.

"Rhia! Get to the back and snipe the bastards!" Ingrid yelled. Rhia quickly moved to the back and retracted her shield, then pulled out her sniper rifle. She looked down the sight and fired at the enemy soldiers, hitting them either through the shoulder or the leg.

With some of the soldiers severely incapacitated, the gunfire toned down, and the rest of the Agents felt more confident and moved forward. Ossa led the charge, running towards the nearest soldier standing upon open ground, and bashing him in the face with her shield. With a quick glance, she immediately retracted her shield and pulled her katana from its sheath, slicing across another soldier that was about to melee her with the butt of his rifle.

Karissa was a bit more daring; she became invisible, lunged at an unsuspecting guard, and then jumped on his shoulders in order to place Gekkou around his neck. The guard suffocated; dropping his weapon he attempted to grab at the invisible chain that choked him. He soon dropped to the ground, frantically gasping for air, and moments later he stopped moving. Foam appeared from the corners of his mouth. Charis stood in front of the line of fire with her ray shield out as Karissa morphed out of invisibility, panting heavily.

"You alright?" asked Charis. Karissa nodded and straightened up.

Ingrid, however, was taking out the hostiles with her ACR assault rifle. Almost each shot was to the head, since enemy survivors in this game were prone to literally back-stabbing you when you were not looking. She then pulled out a knife and threw it at the castle entrance in the second section. It bounced off the ground and hit a running soldier in the head. Ingrid herself stared in surprise as the knife was meant to distract the enemy, not kill them. She quickly looked towards the inner castle entrance and picked out the guards.

As the Society Agents made their way through the first section of open ground, guards appeared on the second floor balconies. They poured suppressing fire on the Agents, causing all to throw an arm up and defend with the ray shield. The gunship hovered above the Agents, spooling its minigun, shredding the guards on the first section balcony. Hot bullet casings expended onto the ground, rattling as they hit the surface. Once the balcony had been cleared, the Agents made a move into the second section, where a second group of guards on another balcony attempted to impede the Agents' movements. Rhia tried to take one out, but the guard's companions sprayed bullets all over the place, and she had no choice but to duck behind her ray shield. Tom tried to get closer and managed to get one with his shield, but he moved back when Ingrid yelled.

"Tom, get out of the crossfire!" Some bullets ricocheted on the ground near him, so he quickly backed up to the Agents. Sniper fire from across the castle took the remaining guards out, and the Agents were able to retract their ray shields and pull out their weapons again. Just as they were about to enter the castle, their radios came to life.

"Hold up. We're coming in from the south face," said a male voice. The Agents looked at the stated direction; they saw two soldiers in white ghillie suits rappelling down the castle walls. They walked briskly towards the Agents, wielding their sniper rifles.

"I'm Terry. This is Ivan. We're here to assist you on this mission." The shorter soldier made the introductions. The Agents nodded in acknowledgement, and with Ingrid leading in the front, the group slowly went down the steps into the castle.

"Watch those corners. The enemy will appear very soon," warned Terry. And soon enough, the guards rushed towards them while firing. Ingrid immediately deployed her ray shield; the bullets bounced off with ringing 'ping' sounds. Kyle, opening his Astral Vault, took out a flamethrower and blasted flames at the guards. The hostiles caught on fire, running randomly over the catwalk railings and falling off.

"That's the control room up ahead! We can use it to find Doug!" remarked Ingrid, pointing towards the room. A guard tried to ambush them, but Tom landed a kick into his gut and struck him down with his sword. They all entered the room and saw many screens, feeding them images from external security cameras. They could see more hostile groups converging on the castle's centre. Charis took out the hardened laptop she'd been provided and started typing away.

"I'll tap into the system and look for him. It's going to take some time," she said, running to another computer and hitting its keys too.

"Ingrid, you can go on for cell duty. We'll take care of her," reported Terry, gesturing with his hand for Ivan to guard the catwalk. Ingrid nodded and continued down the steps to the cells. The other Agents followed her down, deploying their ray shields whenever they encountered enemy fire. Tom went up ahead, bashing the nearest hostile he faced. The guard was incapacitated immediately.

"Wow, that was relatively easy," remarked Tom in surprise. He took on a few more, but he was unprepared for the one guard who rushed him and beat him down with his weapon; Tom tripped and fell to the floor. The guard drew out his pistol, ready to kill him when an energy arrow flew past and grazed his knee. The guard dropped to the floor and crawled away to cover. Tom looked back and saw Valerie holding Seiryu, aimed perfectly at the fleeing guard. She didn't have the heart to kill him, so she drew the bow and aimed at a target near to the man, firing the energy arrow at the target's arm. This other guard dropped his weapon and cowered behind the closest cover. Valerie then pulled Tom away from the crossfire and into the shield wall. The guard who'd crawled away was about to make a last stand by drawing out his pistol when a shot rang and hit him right at the neck.

"Kill them if you have to. You don't want to get stabbed in the back by one of these guys," reminded Terry on the radio. Ben stepped forward and strummed Bahamut, sending forceful waves at the hostiles, knocking them off their feet. This cleared the way for the Agents to advance once more.

As they advanced and checked every cell, a group of soldiers attempted to stop them. With Ossa and Jess at the helm, and Ingrid giving covering fire, the girls did some considerable damage to the guards' ability to fight back. Tom was a bit unlucky; a bullet grazed his leg. To him, it was as painful as getting shot. Ingrid put up her shield while Valerie dragged him back to the control room. They had finally finished inspecting each cell; there was no sign of Doug.

"Talk to me, guys...these cells are deserted," said Jess with a worried tone in her voice. A reply came almost immediately.

"Got it! Doug has been transferred to the east wing! Bypass the lower floors by rappelling down the open grill to your left!" exclaimed Charis. Ingrid saw the open grill and tied two ropes to the nearest obstacle. She threw the loose end of the ropes down then climbed swiftly down. Ossa, Jess, Kyle, Rhia, Karissa and Ben followed after, while Valerie took Tom back to the control room to check out his injuries. After reaching the ground floor, Kyle opened his Astral Vault, taking out an M4A1 rifle and pulling its bolt, emptying the gun chamber.

"Head through solitary confinement. It's the only way to the shower room," reported Charis. Ingrid and Kyle led the team, immediately firing on the guards who entered from the other side of the area. As the gunfire became too intense, Kyle and Ingrid took cover while Ossa and Jess moved forward with their ray shields, bashing the guards.

As the two women entered the cells to take on the cowering guards, Ben strummed Bahamut again, sending an energy blast in that general direction. Some of the guards who got in the way were cringing and covering their ears, moaning in pain. Rhia ran forward and looked around the corner through her sniper scope. A lone guard was retreating, and she made a shot through his leg and shoulder blade. The guard dropped dead, allowing Rhia to head to an entrance to the hallway. She stood beside it, hearing footsteps nearing the entrance. She drew out her frying pan, and as soon as the next man came out, the frying pan made contact with his face.

**WONK!**

The guard was completely knocked out as Ingrid and Kyle joined her side. The three moved into the hallway, with Ben, Ossa and Jess covering their backs. They walked down the hallway, only to reach a dead end.

"We're watching from the security feed. Breach the wall on your left to get into the old shower room," reported Terry on the radio. The Agents stared at the wall before Ben spoke.

"Stay back, guys. I'm blowing up the wall," stated Ben. Ingrid leaned away from the wall in which Ben intended to make his hole; the other Agents followed suit. With a strong strum that could potentially break weaker guitar strings, the shockwave he produced blasted a pathway through several soldiers clear through to the end of the shower rooms. Surviving soldiers wailed in pain and rolled upon the floor, experiencing the damage to their ears. The ones near the wall were hit by the wall pieces; they're never going to make it.

Ingrid entered the hole, firing several shots at escaping soldiers to incapacitate them permanently. Several soldiers did manage to recover from the deafening noise and fire from the second floor. The Agents that had entered after Ingrid activated their shields. Bullets ricocheted off the shields, but the fire never ceased. Ingrid, hugging the walls of the shower room, tossed a grenade up into the second floor.

"Grenade!" yelled one of the soldiers before his entire team was blown to bits by the tiny steel ball. Kyle used his mounted grenade launcher and fired a grenade at the soldiers on the opposite side. The second floor was instantly cleared out.

"Head to the hole at the far end of the showers. The sewers should lead you to the east wing," reported Charis on the radio. Ingrid jumped down the hole and into the sewers, with the rest of the Agents following her. She reached a railing and climbed over, then slid the rest of the way on a slope. Upon reaching the end of the slope, some feminine voices called out a warning.

"Friendlies at your nine! Watch your fire!" warned Rina as she led Maddie and Lydia towards the tunnel's junction. The Society Agents joined them as Rina placed a C4 charge on the wall.

"Stand back! Stand back!" yelled Rina as she waved the Agents to move out of range. At a safe distance, she pushed the trigger, blasting the wall apart. Maddie then rushed in first, hoping to find her lost lover. Before the others could follow, she was immediately thrown out. She shrieked in pain as she slammed into the wall. An unidentified figure bounded towards Maddie, landing a hand around her throat, his other fist smashing the wall next to her head. Just as quick the figure pinned her down, he bit her neck, which she responded to with a bloody gurgle. Ingrid, Kyle and Rina were about to open fire on the man when Lydia stopped them.

"Wait! That's Doug!" announced Lydia. Rina stared in disbelief as she watched her twin sucking his lover dry. His glowing red eyes proved that he was in his berserk mode.

"That's going too far! Guys, help me pry him off Maddie!" said Rina as she ran and latched her hands on Doug's forehead and throat. Ingrid and Kyle wrapped their arms around his torso, Ben on his left arm and Rhia on his right. Ossa and Jess each took hold of one of his legs. Lydia squeezed herself in between Doug and Maddie, and tried to push them apart.

"Come on...come on..." The Agents struggled as hard as they could, straining their muscles against someone so resistant he could be mistaken for a cement truck with its brakes on. Doug was unbelievably strong; even with all of them pulling him away, he still clung to his prey tightly.

"Doug..." It was only when Maddie softly cried his name that the glow in his eyes faded a bit and he seemed to regain some sense. He immediately let go, causing all of them to fall down. Maddie slumped to the ground, too weak to stand up. Some blood trickled from the wounds Doug's fangs had made.

"What the hell?" was Doug's first response as he looked around him. Different Agents were getting up as energy returned to them, but some couldn't get over the exertion to their bodies. Kyle put out a relatively stable hand to Doug.

"Welcome back, Doug," he said, pulling his comrade up.

"What the hell happened?" asked Doug again, a confused look on his face.

"You were kidnapped. Don't you remember?" stated Ingrid. His face just turned sour.

"Damn that Aryan! He took out so much of my blood to create a clone," cursed Doug, only to have his attention diverted by Rina and Lydia calling Maddie's name. Doug took one look at the weakened girl and quickly attended to her.

"Maddie! Maddie! Can you hear me?" exclaimed Doug, shaking her by the shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled weakly.

"Doug, you came back..." said Maddie before closing her eyes.

"Maddie! MADELINE!" yelled Doug as he held her tightly; a tear streaked down his cheek. His love reacted by saying a few words.

"I'm not so easy to kill...I survived the first war... I'll survive this one," she whispered into his ear. Doug sniffled, wiping his damp eyes. Rina had to tap him on the shoulder to gain attention; Doug looked into the face of his twin.

"She'll survive. Come on, we have to get you outta here," said Rina. Doug slipped his hands under his lover's body, carrying her bridal style.

"Come on, let's go," he reaffirmed bluntly. Kyle took out his Plothole Generator and tried to open a plothole. It didn't work. Then the radio crackled.

"The fandom has been sealed! We can't generate any plotholes and we've lost contact with HQ!" exclaimed Terry on the radio. Then Charis spoke up.

"I've lost all contact to the Library. We're on our own now," stated Charis. The Agents began to worry; and their nerves were not calmed as explosions started sounding randomly around the castle.

"Oscar-Six, we have artillery fire directed at the castle. Everyone, get the hell outta there!" reported the pilot left outside in one of the transports.

"Come on, follow me!" yelled Rina as she went back through the hole in the wall. The Agents followed her since the simpler way back to the Library was blocked. For some reason they entered a different hallway than when they'd first come in; and at the end, a helicopter was waiting.

"There's the helo! Get ready to jump!" exclaimed Rina frantically as the ceiling began to give way. There was noise from the radio that faintly stated that Ivan, Terry, Charis, Valerie and Tom had already managed to escape into a chopper. As the group on the ground neared their exit, chunks of the ceiling fell, blocking the path.

"Go back! Go back! We'll find another way out! This way! This way!" exclaimed Rina, almost panicking. They entered a cafeteria, where a dud bomb had made a hole through the layers of ceiling above.

"It's a dead end!" exclaimed Karissa, anxiety setting in.

"Four-Two, where the hell are you, over!" yelled Rina into the radio.

"Oscar-Six, there's too much smoke! I can't see you! I can't see you..." reported the helicopter. Rina quickly loaded a flare into the muzzle of her rifle, firing it through the broken ceiling.

"Oscar-Six, I see your flare. SPIE rig on the way," said the pilot as a long rope was thrown to them after a small delay.

"Everyone go in twos! Hook up!" yelled Rina as the ongoing artillery fire rang in their ears. Rina and Lydia hooked up together, followed by Doug and Maddie, Ben and Kyle, Ingrid and Karissa, Ossa and Jess, and finally Rhia at the very end of the line.

"Hang on!" said Rina as the rope jerked upwards, pulling them up and out of the castle. Just as the last two were clear from the castle, the dud exploded, sending a column of flames up. Rhia instinctively shielded herself, but the heat below was relatively harmless. The helicopter set its course away from the castle, with artillery fire still pounding in the background.

* * *

"The fandom is sealed, but the package escaped," said an officer, behind whom a displeased looking Aryan stood. He posed with his arms folded. He was not pleased with Doug's escape.

"Activate our generators. We assault the world now!" commanded Aryan.

"Yes sir," replied the officer. Outside the control tower, an army was assembled, looking towards a large canvas sheet. A ray cannon appeared from a silo underground, directed at the canvas.

"You have betrayed me for my ideals. Now I shall crush you and your petty little team altogether," mumbled Aryan as he watched the cannon charge and fire at the canvas, effectively creating a giant plothole. Aryan smiled devilishly as his armies began marching through.

* * *

**A/N: A score to suit this chapter would be 'TF141 assaults the Gulag' by Hans Zimmer. On another note, keep waiting for chapter 3.**


	3. Contingency

**Insert Another Classic War Story Here**

**A/N: Thanks to complexities, RedemptionWarrior, James Firebrand and Isis of the Sphinx for the betas.**

**A/N: A score that would fit this would be 'Assaulting the Submarine Base – Launch' by Hans Zimmer. Two chapters to go...

* * *

**

Chapter 3: Contingency

"Charis, Charis, are you there?" exclaimed Tash on the microphone as she saw static strewn over the Society monitors. Emily was typing frantically, trying to find a signal, but to no avail. Then a call rang.

"Tash, a call from the Author," stated Emily, pressing the 'Enter' key. The Author appeared on the screen.

"Did you manage to get hold of my Agents?" asked Tash.

"I was going to ask you the same question," replied the Author. Tash had a confused look on her face.

"You too huh...?"

"What does this mean?" asked Tash with 'frantic' all over her face and worry in her voice. The Author gave a long, deep thought before answering.

"It must be a 'Fandom Nullifier', a jamming device in fandoms. I had one experimental version in one of my bases," explained the Author in a calm tone.

"I believe its function is to nullify the fandom's presence?" questioned Tash.

"Yes – A Sues' dream come true. It seals the fandom to the point where no outside intervention can enter while he or she can come out and get away with ruining the fandom..." explained the Author as the screens started to get fuzzy.

"Author, what is going on?" called out Tash as the screens start to fade. Tash looked into every monitor in the room; not a single one giving a clear feed.

Then static took over; the 'Lost Connection' message strewn across the screen. Tash's expression became something beyond terrified.

A blip resonated from her electronic inbox. Emily opened the 'No subject message' that was on the top of the email list. A video clip played.

"Tash! Whatever you do, get into the fandom and get your Agents outta there! My world is being attacked and I'm sealing it up! Attached are schematics to a Plothole Generator that will be able to overcome the device's barrier! Hurry – Time is of the essence!" yelled the Author's panicky voice before the short video ended with a faint 'We are under attack!' in the background. Tash instructed Emily to send the email to Jared immediately.

* * *

The Author looked up into the red skies over his world as the invasion sirens wailed across the city. Hundreds of enemy helicopters raced in the atmosphere, dropping enemy troops into their planned location of their invasion. Guards from the Author's palace ran out to the roads and commandeered several civilian vehicles. A soldier came to him and saluted.

"Sir, we have your convoy ready for evacuation!" said the Guard.

"Go save the civvies, soldier! Assist the police in any way they can..." They were interrupted by a guy dropping from the sky and landing in front of the Author. The black trench coat figure stood up from his crouching position and stared at the Author.

"Go! That is an order!" yelled the Author at the soldier. The Guard nodded and ran into the waiting vehicles. The vehicle convoy started leaving the scene.

"Aw, come on! Where's the fun if you don't use them!" exclaimed Aryan with a grin on his face as he charged up a ball of energy and hurled it at the convoy. The Author did a quick draw; pulled a pistol from his holster on his thigh, twirled it around his finger and fired at the energy blast while looking at his foe. The energy ball dissipated; the Author then moved his hand and pointed his weapon at Aryan. Aryan sighed.

"You always have to spoil my fun, don't you?" said Aryan before drawing out his sword from thin air.

"Not while you're alive I will," remarked the Author, pulling out another pistol from his holster and aimed at the rogue author. The rogue author laughed.

"Gone soft, eh? The last time I fought you, you had to use a bazooka and a battalion of troops," remarked Aryan swishing his sword, producing blue energy waves.

"I can't stay a loser forever, you know," replied the Author, firing a barrage of bullets at the waves and at the rogue Author.

* * *

Doug was sitting at Maddie's bedside in the medic ward aboard an aircraft carrier. Valerie was there, using her empathy to help with her healing, together with a few nurses and blood packs. Doug was holding her hand, hoping she would wake up after fainting when they were pulled out from that hell hole.

Terry knocked on the door before opening the door. Doug and Valerie looked at the general direction.

"Doug, we need you up the island," said Terry, referring to the control tower atop the carrier. Doug nodded and got up from his chair. He laid Maddie's hand down and nodded at Valerie before walking to the door to follow Terry.

* * *

"We've lost all contact with our Author. The best we could do now is hold on until he punches a plothole into the fandom," explained Ivan to the Wanderers and the Society Agents.

"What do you mean punch a plothole? None of our generation devices are working," said Ossa, feeling uneasy among the Author's characters.

"Whatever's sealing us in is a device. It has its limits, so a large-scale generator would work," replied Ivan when Terry and Doug came in.

"They're not going to open it," said Doug at the crowd. The Wanderers and Agents turned to him surprise.

"What do you mean?" asked Rina.

"Aryan's invading our world as we speak. Hoping to wipe the Author out, and us with him," replied her twin brother. The Wanderers looked shock; disbelief would be a better word to describe their present emotions.

"So we're all stuck here for eternity?" questioned Jess; her thoughts on not returning home was about to engulf her.

"With any luck, our Author would've sent schematics to construct one to the Society before he seals the homeworld." The Agents looked unsure on how to react to the statement.

"However, we must do our part so that we don't have to wait for help." Doug stated as he looked at the map of Russia. He pointed at a location near where he was rescued.

"14 miles South-South-East of Petropavlovsk, Russia." Terry made a side comment to Doug's action.

"Are you sure?" asked Rina.

"Aryan's men have big mouths. The jamming device is at the sub base on 'Contingency'." Doug was very sure on what he said.

"Good, we're going in for a drop then," stated Ivan before nodding for Rina and Lydia to go.

"What is a 'drop'?" asked Tom.

* * *

Ingrid was dazed from the rough landing she had. The turbulence caused her parachute to change direction and she went into the trees. She bumped into some thick branches and broke some smaller ones before landing at a clearing not far from the main road. She could hear her radio crackle with a feminine voice at the other end of the line.

"Doug, did you see Ingrid's parachute? There's too much interference from the jamming device," spoke Charis on the radio.

"Yeah, I've found her. We're going Northwest to the sub base," replied Doug as he neared Ingrid. Ingrid took off her parachute and pulled out her M14 EBR sniper rifle with a silencer. Doug was sporting a Steyr AUG assault rifle with a Holographic scope and silencer, since sniping was not his forte. He also wore clear orange shades as his eyes could not stand the sunlight reflecting from the snow.

"The rest landed near your twin, pretty far to the east," said Charis.

"Tell her to proceed with the mission. We'll regroup if possible," replied Doug. Then he whispered to Ingrid.

"Follow me, and stay out of sight." Ingrid nodded at her mentor's notion. She followed him to the main road where they hid behind some bushes. Several soldiers were patrolling along the said road. Ingrid looked through her scope and trained the gun at the group.

"Contact. Enemy patrol. Five men, automatic rifles, frag grenades. One German Shepherd," reported Ingrid.

"Dogs...I hate dogs," commented Doug. They waited as a convoy of jeeps went past them. When the convoy passed, the patrol split up, leaving two guards at a bend while the other three and the dog went up and stopped at a bridge.

"Two of them stopped for a smoke. Take one and I'll take the other," said Doug. Ingrid trained her rifle at one of the smokers and gently pulled the trigger. The bullet whizzed to the said targets head, boring a hole through his skull. Doug did the same to the other guard. The two continued on and crouched behind the guard rail with the other three within their sights. The dog turned around and looked at their direction. The two held their breath as the dog trained its eye at their location; they sighed as the dog turned away.

"We'll take them out at the same time. Take the handler and his dog and I'll take out the rest," said Doug. Ingrid fired her weapon at the handler and he dropped dead. The dog looked confused as his master lay beside him in a pool of blood. Ingrid fired another shot at the dog, ending its misery. Doug hit the other two before standing up.

"Beautiful," remarked Doug before moving from the position. Ingrid got up and followed him to the icy bridge. Several helicopters zoomed over their heads, carrying equipment.

"We need to hurry up. They are en route to the homeworld," commented Doug as they both crossed the bridge and up the hill. Doug suddenly crouched and signalled to stop. Ingrid stopped and crouched as well. The rumblings were felt from the ground and engine noises became louder. Doug quickly stood up and began to run.

"Incoming!" yelled Doug as he ran towards the snow-covered pine forest. A BTR mechanized infantry vehicle went over the hill and stopped. It skidded on the icy road, firing its 30mm autocannon at the retreating Wanderers/Agents. Adrenaline rushed into the blood stream as bullets whizzed past their heads, hitting the tree trunks, causing some to collapse. Once they were way ahead of the vehicle, Doug turned around, crouched and aimed his rifle at the direction of the main road.

"Slow down. Their vehicles can't follow us this far," said Doug, panting, before turning back into the forest. Ingrid stopped and took a breather before she lifted her rifle up and aimed into the forest. She then followed Doug to a bush where they hid as a patrol with flash lights walk by.

"Let them pass. Looks like they're searching for us," whispered Doug. When the patrol was way behind them, they got out of the bush and walked forward and reached a pipeline. A patrol with a dog was up ahead.

"Dog patrol," reported Ingrid. Doug nodded and turned left. There, they spotted a a three-man patrol.

"Three-man patrol. Dead ahead. Take them out or leave them be. Your call," said Doug. Ingrid aimed at the patrol, but decided not to fire. The patrol then walked away from their sights. Doug got up and followed the pipeline and stopped before another patrol. Two were standing at a ridge while a handler and his dog were within line of sight of the first group. Ingrid hid behind a bush while Doug hid behind a pillar of the pipeline.

"We'll have to take them out at the same time. You take the two in front of you," said Doug. Ingrid fired two shots and killed the guards in front of her. Doug fired rounds at the dog and the handler.

"All clear," stated Doug before proceeding to the ridge and going prone. Ingrid ran up and went down next to Doug. A large patrol of six guards and three dogs went by.

"Your call," said Doug. Ingrid lined up her rifle to the dog handler at the back and fired. The guard went down, and the dog became confused. Doug took care of the dogs, and one by one, they took out the guards from the back. All that lay on the snowy ground were bodies and red ice. The two went down the ridge and went up the hilly forest. They reached another ridge, overlooking a small, abandoned village.

"This ridge is perfect – Charis, what's the status of our drones?" asked Doug on the radio.

"The Predator drone is en route to your position," replied Charis. Doug looked to Ingrid and spoke.

"Use the Predator drone and take out the anti-air defence hidden behind that house," said Doug. Ingrid took out a laptop from her back and opened it. The camera on the missile turned on, and she then pressed the arrow keys to guide the missile to the said location. The location went off with a big boom, displacing snow and ice all around the area. But the anti-air launched its surface-to-air missile to the drone before the Predator missile destroyed it. The drone blew up and its pieces fell off to the ground.

"Damn! Charis, get us another Predator. The SAM site just shot it down," said Doug on the radio before getting up.

"Ingrid, let's go. They know we're here. Switch to your assault rifle," said Doug as he unscrewed his silencer off his nozzle and kept it. He then slid down the hill to the village below. Ingrid switched to her ACR assault rifle and followed Doug down as well. They hid behind a house when someone yelled at them.

"Check your fire! Check your fire! Friendlies at your twelve!" yelled Ivan in his coarse accent as he came out of the forest and slid down the slope. Rina and the Society Agents appeared out of the forest and jumped down, joining up with Doug and Ingrid. They hid behind the house opposite them. Gunfire rang as more mooks appeared at the scene.

"Charis, I've regrouped with the rest of the team," reported Doug.

"I read you. A second Predator is almost in position," Came the reply when suddenly an energy ball zoomed past and hit the slope causing snow to rain on the team. Doug looked up and saw a woman with long silver hair and a one-piece that didn't fit with the frigid weather. She was sporting two katana blades.

"Sue up front!" warned Doug to the team opposite them. Ivan tried to peek out when bullets ricocheted on the walls, causing him to duck back.

"Dang! The guards are pinning us down!" yelled Ivan across the opening.

"Get whoever you can to snipe the guards! Ossa! Jess! Distract her from the front! Kyle! Tom! Get here and we'll hit them from the flank!"yelled Doug. Ivan went up the roof and pulled Rhia up as well. Terry followed soon after as they sniped the guards from behind the roof's apex. Ossa and Jess deployed their ray shields and went in front of the Sue, bullets ricocheting off. The Sue raced and attacked them with her swords, but Jess and Ossa held on, mostly pushing the blade away with the shields. Rina fired blindly at the guards while Kyle and Tom ran across the clearing to Doug and Ingrid. The group then went around the far left of the village, taking cover behind wreckage as they see fit.

Rina and Lydia trained their TAR-21 assault rifles at the Sue and fired at her, putting her at a defensive. However, the Sue made it easy by deflecting off the bullets with her swords with ease while bashing Ossa and Jess at the same time. Doug's team reached the far side of the village, in proximity of the trench where the guards were hiding. Doug pulled out a few Semtex grenades and threw it into the trench, causing the guards to retreat. Some of the grenades stuck to some of the guards; they blew up together with the rest of the group. The gunfire toned down as Ivan, Terry and Rhia took out any stragglers.

This allowed Ben to come out of hiding and sent energy blasts at the Sue, displacing some snow in its path The Sue was dazed; Ossa and Jess took the opportunity to strike quickly. Ossa drew out her katana and slashed the Sue, but the Sue blocked the sword. Jess rushed and landed a kick into her chest; the Sue was thrown back. The Sue flipped backwards and landed on her feet perfectly; she rushed into the two girls with her blades. Ben came forward and sent another volley of energy blasts at her. The Sue sidestepped and rushed towards Ben. Ben shielded himself with Bahamut, just in time as the Sue rammed into him, causing him to be thrown back and broke his guitar. The Sue wanted to go ahead with another strike when Rina stepped in and did an upward slash with her knife. The Sue stepped back, and was suddenly strangled by an unseen force.

The Sue reacted by slamming herself into the ground. Karissa reappeared from her invisibility and she wheezed; all the air was pushed out of her lungs. The Sue screamed as she prepared to jab the downed Karissa when Tom rammed into her with his entire bodyweight. Tom quickly rolled out and drew out his sword when the Sue swung a kick to his head. He was knocked out instantly; Ossa knocked the Sue's head with the butt of her katana. The Sue was floored; Ossa took out her Prohibitor.

But the Sue gave no chances; with the force of her feet, she pushed Ossa away from her. Ossa was thrown up, only to be caught by Kyle.

"You all right?" asked Kyle with concern.

"Yeah...I'm okay," replied Ossa between pants. She could see Tom was being pulled away by Ivan, as with Karissa by Jess. Doug and Terry were duking it out with the Sue; one with his sword, another with alchemy. Ice sculptures formed around the Sue and headed towards her general direction. The Sue used an energy ball and disintegrated all the ice sculptures. Doug lunged at her with his sword. The Sue dodged and landed a punch on his face. Disorientated, Doug was kicked in the gut and was thrown to the slope. Then, a grappling hook came and wrapped around her neck; 10000 volts of pure electricity raced into the Sue's nervous system as Ingrid held onto the Grappling Prohibitor.

When the Sue fell to the ground, Ingrid powered the winch and the Sue was dragged towards her. The Sue struggled, and Ingrid placed another Prohibitor around the Sue's wrist as she disengaged the Grappling Prohibitor. The Agents ran towards her and got the weakened Sue up, apprehending her. Normally they would open a plothole directly to the Library's basement, but since they're stuck in the fandom, some have to stay back and watch over her.

"The sub base is over the trench line. Some of us will have to stay back and guards the Sue..." said Doug as he turned his attention to an unconscious Tom and an injured Karissa. "...and taking care of the casualties." He wiped the blood from his nose he received from the Sue's earlier punches.

"Lydia and I will take them to the extraction point. You and the others should go on, just in case more Sues are in the way," said Rina, tapping Lydia's shoulder as she heads to the injured and the Sue.

"Let's not get their efforts wasted. Follow me," said Doug, bringing up his rifle and leading the team to the edge of the sub base. The rest followed, since Doug knows the fandom more than any of them. He stopped at a ridge and signalled the rest to line up on the ridge.

"The building near the sub with a radio tower is the control centre. Ivan, Terry, Rhia - get into sniping position on this ridge. The rest – we'll get into the base once the defenses are softened up. Ingrid, call in the Predator." said Doug in rapid succession. The Agents have no choice but to follow; as long as they're stuck in that fandom, they're going to have to rely on the expert. Ingrid pulled out the laptop and guided the Predator missile to a group of soldiers at the gates of the base.

**BOOM!**

"We're moving!"

Chaos ensued in the base as a helicopter took off from its helipad and soldiers came pouring out from the many buildings of the base. The Agents deployed their ray shields as bullets from the helicopter and the guards came battering on them. Ivan, Terry and Rhia fired shots from their sniper rifles, covering the assault team. Ingrid found herself near a weapons cache; she pulled out a Stinger missile launcher and aimed at the helicopter. After the definitive rings of a missile lock-on, she fired the missile, and it began following the helicopter. The helicopter swerved to dodge the missile, but the missile came in for a second pass and hit its tail rotor. The helicopter spun out of control as troop numbers at the gate began to dwindle. Ossa and Jess spearheaded the assault, going to the nearest mooks and bashing them with their shields.

"We're displacing. You'll be without sniper support for 30 seconds," reported Terry.

"Copy that," replied Doug as he pushed into the base. Kyle followed after, then Ingrid as the two women were having a field day with their shields and blades.

"_Strike with the fury of a wounded god...Bahamut!_" Ben entered the base in style; he strummed Bahamut, blasting some explosive barrels, adding some orange flames into the mix. Just as Ossa and Jess were outnumbered, the snipers took out the guards so they could retreat. As they all grouped up near some crates, Doug yelled out.

"Follow me and don't stray off!" Doug entered the warehouse in front of him, shooting the guards that were waiting for them. Terry and Ivan were right behind him straight away checking the building for any more hostiles.

"Area clear!" reported Ivan.

"C'mon guys! We're Oscar Mike!" said Doug.

"What?" asked the confused Ossa.

"On the move, it means," replied Doug as he exited the building through another doorway. The group hid behind some crates as more guards came pouring out of the building surrounding them. Ingrid pulled out her laptop and guided another missile at the guards, clearing them out. They moved on to the port authority building, where a BTR appeared from behind the building. The 30mm autocannon laid suppressive fire at the group, causing them to hide behind the pillars and walls.

"Ben! Hit it with Bahamut! The AGM is still arming! We'll cover you!" yelled Ingrid across to the pillar Ben was hiding. The bullets hit the pillar, chipping off concrete and causing him to duck. Doug, Terry and Ivan came out with ray shields deployed, drawing fire from the BTR. Ben immediately turned and aimed Bahamut at the imposing war machine, sending a blast wave at it. The BTR flipped and turned belly up. Some of the guards near the BTR were covering their ears, hurting from Ben's sound blast. The three retracted their shields and fired at the downed guards, silencing them. The group then advanced forward, reaching a building with a high vantage point. More soldiers appeared to attack the group from the flank.

"I'm going for the building! Ingrid, follow me!" yelled Doug as he ran past the building.

"Kyle! Catch!" Ingrid passed the laptop to Kyle and followed Doug into the target location.

"Everybody up the building! We need to cover their entry! Go! Go!" yelled Terry as he fired a few rounds at the approaching soldiers. Rhia got to the roof of the building, firing off a few sniper rounds. Kyle followed soon after, firing a burst of rounds at a group of soldiers. Once Ossa, Jess and Ben got up, Ivan and Terry got up as well and into sniping position.

Doug and Ingrid reached the door and planted a frame charge on said door. They lay along the wall as the fuse went off.

**BOOM!**

The door was in many flying pieces of metal as Doug and Ingrid entered, firing at soldiers who were pointing their guns at the doorway. They were dispatched immediately, with one surviving with wounds on his legs. They looked around; the supercomputers were processing distortion signals to jam small-scale plothole generators.

"Ingrid, go plant charges on the computers," instructed Doug as he headed to the incapacitated soldier, who was crawling away. He turned him around and pointed a pistol at his head.  
"Which base is Aryan using?" Doug interrogated, but the soldier remained silent. Doug put a bullet through his left thigh. The soldier cried in pain as Doug slammed him on the concrete ground and pulled him up again.

"Where is he?" yelled Doug with the gun pointed at the soldier's shoulder blade.

"I'll never tell you!" replied the persistent soldier. Doug sent a punch to his nose, breaking it. The soldier was bleeding through it, and Doug put another bullet through his elbow.

"SITE HOTEL BRAVO!" wailed the soldier; the pain too unbearable. Doug relieved him from his suffering by a bullet through the head. As the pools of blood from each body joined together, Doug stood up and turned to Ingrid.

"Are the charges in place?" asked Doug.

"Yes, Doug," replied Ingrid.

"Good."

* * *

"Doug! Ingrid! Are you there? We need to evacuate now!" yelled Terry on his radio as a portal opened in the base, pouring out trucks and tanks. The gunfire was now becoming too much for them to handle. Suddenly, the building blew up as Ben strummed Bahamut, flipping a few trucks and incapacitating hundreds of soldiers. Death Metal Bahamut then reverted to its original state, drained out all of its energy.

"What the fu...!" The Wanderers and Agents looked at the burning building, seeing no sign of Doug or Ingrid exiting the building. Plotholes opened behind them, one with Guards pouring out while another with Tash and Harriet.

"Guys! We have to go – NOW!" yelled Harriet as she dragged one of the Agents into the plothole.

"Wait! What about D..." Rhia was interrupted by Ivan.

"We'll take care of that! Your safety first!" One of the Guards fired an AT4 rocket launcher at an approaching tank, blowing it up. The Society Agents were ushered into the plothole, then closing up. The Wanderers and the Guards retreated into the plothole as a tank shell blasted the building.

* * *

Aryan appeared from the smoke, wielding a recoilless rifle (more commonly known as a bazooka) and fired at the Author. The bazooka shell made impact, but the Author remained unscathed as the smoke cleared out, revealing a ray shield. The Author retracted it and pulled out a railgun, firing the weapon at Aryan. Aryan dodged as the beam flew past him, and he threw in a few smoke grenades at the Author. The Author jumped out of the smoke, not to be blinded by the smoke, but was unaware that it was a diversion. Aryan appeared above him, sending a kick right into the Author's chest. The Author was pinned down as Aryan raised his sword up, ready to strike the Author.

"Where's your Wanderers and your friends now?" spoke Aryan in a sinister voice, although distorted by the panting. He was ready the strike him down when he jumped away. The gunshot rang, missing the Author's legs. The Author stood up and smirked.

"Ha, speak of the devil," remarked the Author as plotholes opened around the city, pouring large behemoth tanks and artillery, taking out the PCMSPS army. The Author looked up to one of the broken down towers; on one of the windows was a person that looked like Terry, but had black hair with a few whites sticking out. The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle rested on the window ledge as it repositioned to acquire Aryan.

Aryan jumped off as another shot rang and hit the ground he was standing on. He took a good look at the forces he built up destroyed but not the Author's own forces, but by another. He gritted his teeth and trained his eyes on the Author when another character appeared, trying to slash him down. This character looked like Ivan, but had light brown hair and hazel eyes. The character dropped the blade and immediately wielded an Intervention sniper rifle and aimed at Aryan. Aryan immediately opened a plothole and retreated. He had not anticipated this. He had lost the war.

The Ivan character walked towards the Author while the Terry character teleported to him when his flying dagger was near the Author. The Author smiled as he met with his two friends; his comrade in arms.

"ZetX, shouxen," greeted the Author.

"noob_killer," replied ZetX the Terry-like character, fist-bumping each other. That was when they were interrupted by Vespin.

"Author, we have lost contact with Doug and Ingrid, but their vitals are still on. We haven't been able to trace their present location. However, we have located the PCMSPS reserves and stockpiles in the fandom," reported Vespin.

"Good. Divert our forces to those locations," replied the Author.

"How about Doug and Ingrid?" asked Vespin. The Author coughed out a laugh.

"I know where they are. It's pretty obvious. Give them three hours," replied the Author. Vespin nodded and left the three friends together.

"Say, how about we get 'Gaz' in to pilot for us?" said the Author.

* * *

**A/N: ZetX, shouxen, noob_killer and Gaz are actual gamertags my friends and I use when playing Call of Duty on the PC. Good luck trying to find us...**


	4. Endgame

**Insert Another Classic War Story Here**

**A/N: Thanks to Isis the Sphinx and complexities for beta-ing this chapter.**

**A/N: At this point Doug and Ingrid are still Society Agents although they are referred to as Wanderers by Aryan and the PCMSPS troops since it's their intent to hunt him down.**

**Warning: Some scenes in this chapter are increasingly more violent than the previous. Viewer discretion is advised**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4: Endgame

Ingrid found herself lying on sandy ground in the Afghani desert. Having a silenced Intervention sniper rifle with her, she waited for Doug to give the order.

A hand appeared to pop up from under the sand - actually it was a sheet of cloth coloured to look the same as the desert. Doug got up, wielding a silenced TDI Vector sub-machine gun with an ACOG sight attachment. It had taken them fifteen minutes to get out of the cold weather of Siberia, change into suitable desert camouflage suits, grab new weapons, and then arrive at the destination. She got up from her prone position, falling in behind him.

"Ingrid, I'm picking a thermal spike up ahead. The cave must be somewhere over the edge," he whispered as he walked to the ledge. They both went prone and looked over. They saw some guards patrolling the road deck below, with parked vehicles and a German Shepherd. The road deck overlooked a wide canyon, where Little Bird helicopters zoomed past in one of their patrols.

"Hold up. Enemy patrol. Hold your fire. I should've seen this coming," whispered Doug as he looked at the black-clad guards with desert-coloured helmets. The patrol of five men and a dog began to split up; the dog and two of the men walked further away while the other three stayed.

"Good, they're splitting up. Let them separate. I hope my cracking abilities are up to it," said Doug as he pressed a series of digits on his radio. It came to life as information from the PCMSPS' communications leaked into their headsets.

_Go ahead Alpha._

_ Riverbed all clear, over._

_ Bravo?_

_ Sandstorm. Not much to see here, over._

_ Zulu?_

_ Uh...starting patrol east along the canyon. North side access road, over._

"Let's focus on the group on the right first, directly beneath us. Let's take them out first. I'll take the one on the left. On my mark," said Doug as he zeroed in on his target. Ingrid held her breath as she looked through the scope of her sniper rifle. Doug counted down.

Three.

Two.

One.

The bullets hit their targets and the soldiers died silently.

"Just like old times," remarked Doug as he slid down the ledge. Ingrid followed, to land on the road deck behind the other two patrolling guards.

"Just take the shot," whispered Doug. Ingrid aimed down her sights and took both the soldiers down with one bullet. Doug took out the dog.

"Tango down," remarked Ingrid.

"We don't have much time before they find the bodies. Let's keep moving," whispered Doug as he went to the railing and hooked a rope on it. Ingrid did the same on another railing. They both stood up on the railing, ready to jump into the canyon below.

_Disciple Four, Oxide. What's your status over?_

"Go" Doug jumped and rappel down the cliff face. Ingrid followed after.

_Disciple Four, Oxide. Do you copy, over?_

"Two guards directly beneath us," stated Ingrid.

Both of them slowly rappelled down until they were a few feet away from two other unsuspecting guards. Both of them drew out their knives.

_Hey, I'm not getting anything from Disciple Four, north ridge. Could be a bad transmitter._

"Do it," said Doug. Both of them grabbed the guards by the chin, driving the knife deep into the artery. The guards gave muffled screams; their pupils dilated. Ingrid let go of her victim with a sigh, and then dragged him to some bushes where no one would see him. She drew out her silenced ACR assault rifle at the same time that Doug drew out his silenced Steyr AUG assault rifle.

"Let's go," whispered Doug as he entered the cave. Ingrid was behind him, following in his every step. A rock chipped off from the cave ceiling as a guard walked towards a standard CRT television. Doug hid behind one of the cave support struts and observed him. He then quickly came out and walked to the area on the left.

"Patrol coming our way. Go left, quickly!" whispered Doug as he entered the area. Ingrid managed to get in before the patrol walked past.

"Let them pass," said Doug, watching the patrol of ten men and three dogs walk to the cave entrance.

_Butcher Seven, Oxide. We've lost contact with Disciple Five._

_ Probably just the sandstorm that's rollin' in or a bad transmitter. Send a team to check it out, over._

_ Roger that, Oxide. I'll send Viktor and Asad. Butcher Seven out._

"Take out the guard having a smoke, or wait for him to move along," whispered Doug, his attention on the guard who was facing the television. Ingrid slowly crept behind him and knifed him through the back.

"Tango down," remarked Ingrid as she kept her knife. Doug came out of hiding and hid behind a wall. There were more guards walking around, mingling and taking coffee through their balaclavas.

"Easy now," said Doug as he crawled alongside the wall. After seeing that no guard was looking, they went across to a tunnel. Crouching at a bend, they saw two guards who looked as if they were actively searching for intruders – namely, them.

"We've got two tangos with tac lights coming down the stairs under the red light, dead ahead," whispered Doug. Ingrid aimed and fired at both of the guards. The guards dropped dead without making a sound.

"Impressive. Clear. Go," remarked Doug as they headed to the stairs. Doug spotted a guard standing at the top.

_Disciple Six, we've lost all contact with Disciple Five. Check it out, over._

"On top of the staircase. He's mine," whispered Doug as he slowly climbed the stairs and reached the guard. He drew out his knife and immediately stabbed him through the chest. The guard went down quietly, and they went into the steam room.

_Roger that Oxide, we're on the catwalk, heading to the steam room. Standby._

Doug and Ingrid walked towards a conjoined stalagmite and stalactite and hid behind it. The room began to go dark.

_Disciple Six, go dark. Breach and clear._

"Here we go – Get ready," said Doug as he aimed at a doorway. Ingrid was ready with a grenade in her hands.

_Door charge planted. Ready to breach._

_ Hit it!_

_ Breaching! Breaching!_

**BOOM!**

The cave shook, spilling loose rock from the cave ceiling. The metal door was no more; replaced by a ray of light and plenty of laser designators. The soldiers herded into the room, searching for hostiles they had yet to discover.

_Foxtrot Element, sweep left._

Ingrid threw her grenade at the group. A confused soldier heard the 'tink' of the grenade rolling towards him.

**BOOM!**

_They're here! Open fire! Stay frosty, hunt them down!_

Doug and Ingrid exchanged fire with the soldiers, throwing frag grenades into the mix. The soldiers were unprepared for the stinging sensation from the metal bits in the grenades. After the last of the soldiers were down, Doug and Ingrid came out of the cave from the blown-out entrance and headed to the catwalk at the edge of a very steep cliff.

_Disciple Nine. Your rearguard just flatlined._

_ That's not possible. We've just cleared that area. Nobody's-._

_ It's the Wanderers._

That final line scored home. Doug identified Aryan's voice, and he immediately quickened his pace.

_Backup priority items and burn the rest. Fire teams, just delay 'em until we're ready to pull out._

"Ingrid, use the shield to draw their fire. I'll take care of the mooks," said Doug. Ingrid activated her ray shield as she climbed up the stairs to the open area of the catwalk. On the opposite catwalk, there were soldiers firing on their position.

_Oxide, Disciple Nine, we've got hostile contact approximately 50 meters from the nest, over._

_ Terminate with extreme prejudice. All personnel - be advised, we have two enemy foot-mobiles on the catwalk heading to the crow's nest._

"Heavy fire here, Doug! I don't think I can hold much longer!" yelled Ingrid over the ricocheting bullets.

"Just bear with for a while! I almost got all of them!" replied Doug, peeking out behind a concrete guardrail and aimed on the soldiers.

Doug fired on the suppression team, each bullet scoring a body shot. They went across the bridge to the other side, and finally reaching the entrance of the crow's nest the soldiers were holding.

"We're clear. Move in," said Doug, entering the crow's nest. Ingrid switched to her ACR, and followed him behind.

_Butcher One-Five, rendezvous at the nest and prepare to extract Gold Eagle to the LZ._

"Gold Eagle must be Aryan. We're running outta time, let's go," remarked Doug, firing at some of the soldiers that scaled down a rope. They both hid behind ammo boxes; bullets ricocheting on the ground and on their covers. Doug tossed a flashbang, blinding the soldiers. Ingrid took them out quickly, allowing them to enter another section of the cave.

More mooks scaled down another rope. Ingrid fired on the troops, and they fell dead on the ground. Doug looked across the ravine and saw smoke covering the opposite area.

"They're using thermals through the smoke! They're digging in, Aryan must be close! I'll draw their fire and you flank them from the right!" yelled Doug, firing a burst of rounds.

"Roger!" replied Ingrid as she entered a tunnel on the right. There were soldiers going into the smoke, which was hard to see through. She then spotted a SCAR-H assault rifle with a thermal scope. She picked it up and fired into the smoke from the right flank, hitting any white, glowing bodies. Once the glows dimmed and the smoke cleared, Ingrid ran towards an open doorway. A soldier peeked out and slammed the door shut. Doug joined her soon after.

_Oxide, Butcher Five-Actual. I've got a severed det cord - we're gonna need ten mikes to get the trunk rigged and the EBC primed, over._

_ Negative. Gold Eagle wants those charges hot in less than three mikes. Get it done, out._

Ingrid planted a frame charge on the door and waited for the fuse to go.

**BOOM!**

Ingrid entered the room, firing headshots on all the soldiers to make sure she didn't hit the explosives lying around the area. In a second, the room was cleared and they checked it out. Doug went to one of the computer terminals and began sending data to a remote server.

_All units, be advised, this is Gold Eagle. The site has been compromised. I am executing directive one-one-six bravo. If you're still inside, your service will be honoured. Aryan out._

"Override the door controls, hurry!" exclaimed Doug as he clicked through the keyboard. Ingrid went through the 'cmd' of the computer, and managed to get the door open.

"Doors opened, Doug!" exclaimed Ingrid as she rushed out. The monitors in the room began showing a countdown.

"Run! Keep moving! This place is gonna blow-" And flames engulfed them as they reached the exit.

* * *

Shell-shocked, Ingrid propped herself up. They were finally out; the cave entrance had caved in and Doug was behind a sandbag, firing several rounds at the attacking soldiers.

_Excalibur, this is Gold Eagle. Fire mission – target package Romeo. Danger close._

_ But that's within a hundred metres from your position sir!_

_ That's not a suggestion. Send it._

_ Roger! Fire mission, danger close!_

"Incoming! Get down! Get down!" yelled Doug as he ran towards Ingrid. He grabbed her and pulled her down, facing the caved-in entrance as artillery shells screeched and bombarded their position. Doug covered Ingrid's head and body, protecting her from any shrapnel that might fly across towards them. When the barrage was over, they got up and observed the damage. The soldiers who had been attacking were completely immobilized; on fire and shell-shocked.

"Let's go! Stay close and follow me! To the west, Ingrid, go!" yelled Doug as he made his way through the bombarded weapons cache area. Two helicopters hovered over the site, dropping troops into the area. Doug and Ingrid managed to find some working AT4 rocket launchers and shot down the helicopters, bringing down all the reinforcements.

_ Sir, sandstorm activity is picking up here. It's too risky for flight ops._

_ Understood. Head for the tunnels. We'll use the Zodiacs._

_ Yes, sir._

Doug and Ingrid ran for another cave entrance and encountered light resistance from the PCMSPS troops. They were immediately gunned down, and both of them entered the tunnel.

"Aryan mentioned Zodiacs. There must be a river access nearby," said Doug.

* * *

_(Start music 'Zodiac Chase & Waterfall Ending' by Hans Zimmer, MW2 OST; _**0:00**_)_

"They're just around the corner, let's go!" yelled Doug as he ran down a flight of steps. They both saw Aryan jumping into the boat in front of the jetty, then driving off with a few guards. Doug hopped into the boat at the back; Ingrid seconds later, manning the motors. The motors revved up, propelling the boat forward. Doug fired at some guards who were standing at the shoreline, trying to slow them down. Ingrid helped by firing with her Mini-Uzi sub-machine gun. Some of the guards went down; others hid behind rocks. Doug fired on one of the barrels on another jetty. The barrels blew up, setting those nearby on fire.

"Ingrid, up the bridge!" Doug yelled as troops atop a suspension bridge fired rockets in their direction. Ingrid manoeuvred the Zodiac and dodged the missiles while Doug attempted to hit the soldiers on the bridge. Ingrid then raced to the cave entrance, where Aryan's boat had entered.

"Through that cave!" yelled Doug as he launched a grenade at an army checkpoint; blowing it up. The boat raced through the cave with Doug firing at the boat in front of him. Blinding light began to enter their eyes as they came out into the open lake dotted with rock formations. More boats joined Aryan's boat, with helicopters flying above them.

"Stay clear of open areas!" yelled Doug as he fired at one of the escort boats. One of the boats flipped over and crashed into a rock formation. A helicopter in the distance was facing them and spooling their side miniguns.

"Ingrid, dodge that helicopter on our six! Take evasive manoeuvres!" yelled Doug, firing a grenade at another Zodiac. It flipped and threw its occupants out. The miniguns on the helicopter fired bullets at Doug and Ingrid.

"Left! Left!" The boat went through the gaps between the miniguns and the chopper flew above them. Water splashed on them as they reached a broken bridge filled with PCMSPS troops. They fired rockets at the incoming Wanderers.

"RPGs on the bridge!" warned Doug as the boat swerved and dodged the missiles. The missiles impacted the water as the boat went past the bridge and on towards Aryan's boat. A boat tried to steer them off, but Doug lobbed a Semtex grenade into their boat. The boat blew up as they went forward. Ingrid wiped her eyes when water splashed into their boat, and focused on driving the boat. Another helicopter far ahead was ready to make another run at the Wanderers.

"Go right! Right!" Doug yelled as the helicopter fired its miniguns at them. Ingrid manoeuvred the boat off and away from the gunfire. They went past another bridge with a series of rockets after them. They finally neared some rapids, where Aryan's boat drove into.

"Rapids up ahead! It's gonna get rough, hang on!" Doug yelled as the boat flew up and entered the rapids. The boat shook violently, trying to toss its occupants overboard. Doug ducked into the boat while Ingrid held tight to the rudder handle while trying to navigate though the rapids, the water blinding her vision. They finally reached a slow moving stream, where some of Aryan's escort boats entered the field. Doug and Ingrid fired at the boats, killing off the occupants and flipping the boats. Another bridge loaded with soldiers fired their salvo of rockets at them. Ingrid steered the boat and dodged them, passing through the bridge. Aryan's boat was within their sights. A Pave Low helicopter entered the view and flew past them.

_Avatar One, gimme a sitrep, over!_

_ I have Warhorse 5-1 standing by. Pave Low's down river, sir._

_ Copy that! Warhorse 5-1, be advised! We're coming in hot!_

_ Roger – dropping hatch – keep it above 30 knots and watch for vertical clearance._

The two watched Aryan's boat enter the back end of the helicopter, then take off. Doug and Ingrid knew they were running out of river; in front of them was a 30-foot waterfall. The helicopter flew in front of them, and then turned around in response to a sandstorm heading its way.

**(2:04)**

"Ingrid! Hold it steady!" Doug yelled as he loaded a new clip into his rifle, with FMJ written on it. Lead bullets, encased in a cupro-nickel shell, strong enough to give the penetration power needed to destroy the chopper's engines.

"Steady!" Doug aimed through his scope, trained on the helicopter's main engines.

"Steady!" The boat dipped down and reached the end of the river. Doug immediately shifted his aim to compensate for the boat's movement against the water.

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

**BANG!**

The third shot hit the helicopter's jet engine. The engine caught on fire; the main rotor began to lose power, decreasing its capability to lift. The helicopter then spun out of control, disappearing behind the waterfall. Doug looked over the edge and signalled Ingrid to put the motor in full reverse.

"Back up! Back up!" yelled Doug as he held onto the boat. The river was very unforgiving; it suddenly gave a rapid push on the boat, causing it to go over the falls. Ingrid was thrown away from the boat as she fell into the waters below. The only thing she remembered was crashing into the water head first.

**(2:26)**

Ingrid woke up with her vision blurred; she found herself at the edge of the river, on the shoreline. The area was under a haze of red dust; the sandstorm was hitting the place hard. She pushed herself up and coughed out water. She panted and wiped her mouth, saliva dripping from the edges. She got up and drew out her knife, turning and sighting small fires through the sand screen. She hobbled towards the flames and identified Aryan's crashed helicopter. A soldier crawled away from the crash, leaving a blood trail behind. Ingrid slashed the soldier, and he lay dead in the sand.

She continued hobbling towards the site. Another soldier was propped up on a rock face. He saw her approaching. He reached out to a gun and pointed it at her. He pulled the trigger. Nothing happened, other than the clicking sound of the hammer against the empty barrel. The soldier sighed in disappointment and laid flat on the rock face. Ingrid continued on, seeing Aryan walking out of the wreckage, coughing from the smoke of the wreckage. Ingrid came close and slashed her knife. Aryan ran off. She looked up and watched him disappear into the blanket of dust and sand. She wandered aimlessly, searching for him, her blurred vision still not getting any better.

Then she heard a cough. He was close. She went towards the sound of coughing and saw a car's wreckage, with Aryan resting on it. She lunged at Aryan, swinging her blade. But Aryan grabbed her swinging arm, yanked her forward and slammed her head on the roof of the car. She cringed in pain as she lay on the ground, disorientated. Aryan grabbed his knife and stabbed deep into her chest. Ingrid coughed blood and blacked out.

When she opened her eyes again, Aryan was emptying his revolver.

"You had to stand in the way of my revenge," Aryan spoke as he loaded two bullets into his revolver. He clicked the barrel back into the gun and pulled the hammer. Ingrid feared the worst and took a deep breath.

"Good night" The barrel turned to the chambered round just as Doug rammed into Aryan. The gunshot went off target, and both of them engaged in hand combat. Aryan tried to aim the revolver at Doug, but Doug kicked the pistol out of his hands. Ingrid watched the pistol land nearby; she mustered her strength and dragged herself across the ground, crawling to the revolver. Grunts were heard as Doug and Aryan landed punches on each other. Doug was then tossed in front of Ingrid as she reached the gun. The gun was kicked away, and Ingrid got a boot to the head courtesy of Aryan. She blacked out again.

**(2:44)**

When she woke up again, Doug and Aryan were still duking it out, sending each other punches and kicks. At first it seemed that Doug had the upper hand, but Aryan slowly regained control of the fight. Aryan landed a punch to Doug's gut, dropping him. He quickly came on top of him, sending punches across Doug's face. Ingrid saw the knife stuck in her chest. She grabbed onto the handle, and began pulling it out.

Aryan grunted as he punched Doug repetitively. Ingrid had the blade halfway out of her body. She used her other hand and yanked it out, blood slowly tricking out from the wound. Ingrid grit her teeth as she held in a scream of pain.

The knife was out, and Ingrid panted heavily. She twirled the knife and held it by the blade, then turned to Aryan, who was beating the snot out of Doug. Doug was already unconscious, and Ingrid yelled his name to grab his attention.

"AR – YAN!"

**(4:10)**

Aryan looked up, and Ingrid threw the blade at him. He didn't have any time to react; the knife went into his eye socket and directly to his brain. Blood squirted out as he fell dead on the ground, lying in his own pool of blood. Ingrid's vision began to black out again as she fought to stay awake. Then, the sound of helicopter blades hovered near her. Three heavily-equipped masked men came out from the sand storm and looked over the bodies. One of them came towards Ingrid and felt her pulse on her neck.

"She's alive. Get her to the chopper," said the masked man. Another man came to him from checking out Aryan's body to Ingrid. He immediately took some bandages from his Kevlar pocket and wrapped it around her wound, stopping the bleeding. He then reached his hands under her body and carried her to an awaiting helicopter. She turned and saw the other two men injecting adrenaline into Doug's chest, sand then pumped his chest with their hands to resuscitate him. After a while, one man punched Doug's chest in frustration. Ingrid and her saviour reached the helicopter, where another man was piloting it.

"noob_killer, when are the others coming in?" asked the pilot.

"They'll come in later, Gaz. Just get us outta here. She needs medical attention," said the man. Ingrid then blacked out again.

* * *

**A/N: Hold on to your chairs, it ain't over yet...**


	5. Epilogue

**Insert Another Classic War Story Here**

**A/N: The last chapter of the story. Enjoy.

* * *

**

Chapter 5: Epilogue

Awareness came to Ingrid slowly. First she realized she was laying on a bed, and not the hard ground at the river. Second came a deep, aching soreness in her chest. She breathed in, and exhaled when it got too painful for her chest to expand anymore.

She cracked open her eyes and winced when the light was a little too bright at first, and waited for her eyes to adjust. A semi-blurry face came into her line of sight and focused. Valerie smiled softly. "Welcome back, Ingrid."

"Wh-where am I?" Her voice was soft, and rough. Valerie handed her a small glass of water, and helped her drink it before answering.

"Society infirmary." Ingrid rubbed her eyes.

"How long was I out?" asked Ingrid.

"Two days. Your Author wheeled you in." Valerie replied, then took out her Communicator, to call for the Librarian, and then propping Ingrid up. Ingrid laid her head on the soft, white pillow. She thought on what happened that day; the caves, the boat chase, the waterfall, the stab, and finally, the kill. The last images of the kill included a knife through Aryan's head and a very unconscious Doug. Two men tried to revive him; she remembered the man beating Doug's chest in frustration. Her thoughts were interrupted when Tash entered the ward.

"Young lady, you almost got yourself killed out there," lectured Tash. Ingrid bowed her head down apologetically. The leader then hugged Ingrid, which surprised her completely.

"Thank god you're alive. I don't want to lose another Agent this way. Promise me you won't do that again," said Tash. Ingrid gently nodded as the leader let go. Then, a burning question came up to Ingrid's head.

"What happened to Doug?" asked Ingrid. Both the healer and the leader stood still, stony-faced expressions; they daren't say another word.

"What happened? Tell me," said Ingrid weakly, desperately wanting to know what happened to her mentor.

"Doug passed on, hon," said Tash softly. Shock and sadness crept through Ingrid's mind; all those times where he helped her to her feet as a new character to the world; she was very grateful to him. Now he's gone just as easy as the rogue author she killed. She lowered her head, fighting back her tears and bit her lower lip. Valerie patted Ingrid on the back and spoke.

"It's okay. Let it out." Ingrid grabbed onto Valerie and bawled out, tears streaking down her cheeks. Valerie patted her on her head to calm her down.

"There. There." Valerie's motherly voice calmed Ingrid's emotions as she cried more and more. Valerie looked up to Tash and nodded to her, notifying the leader that she's got this. The leader turned and went out the ward, thinking on what she said, or more correctly, what the Author told her.

* * *

The Author was covered from head to toe, not much showing other than his eyes and fingers. He stood in front of Tash desk, explaining his situation.

"I've brought Ingrid here to get treated, since the Wanderers are finally disbanded and the facilities are now in the hands of the military," said the Author.

"Where are you and your characters going to go?" asked Tash

"I'll be wandering around my world while my characters enter a secluded civilian life. The people won't know about them, and I can call them up whenever I need them," the Author stated. He then took out Doug's Society badge and placed it on her desk.

"I know he was retiring from the Society, so I've delivered this badge to you," the Author said. Tash picked up the badge and questioned him.

"Why isn't he here to deliver it himself?" The Author lowered his head and replied.

"We couldn't bring him back alive, Tash." Tash was shocked when she heard the words.

"You're kidding me, right? He took a spike through the body before and he was alive," Tash spoke, remembering Doug's near-fatal second mission. She thought that the Author was pulling her leg.

"He was near death when we found him. He wasn't even healed partially during the short break between his rescue and the next mission. That guy...he pushed himself over the limit," explained the Author. Tash's jaw dropped in disbelief. She then cursed under her breath and took the badge.

"Thank you for taking care of Doug. I'm sure he had a happy time in the Society," said the Author before leaving the room. Tash stood there, looking at the badge, gripping it, and then keeping it into the drawer.

Tash pinched her forehead as she thought about the meeting. She didn't want to be reminded about another Agent's death at this time. It reminded her about Adrian, and she wanted to keep it shut for as long as possible. She shook her head, followed by her stomach's innocent grumbling. She sighed, and then strode off to the kitchens.

* * *

A few days into her recuperation, Ingrid was reading up history books when Kyle went in to deliver her lunch.

"Are you alright?" asked Kyle, setting the tray on the beside table . Ingrid looked up and noticed Kyle.

"Yes, I am. Thank you for asking," replied Ingrid with a smile. She then returned to her history books, squinting as she tried to read. Kyle couldn't help but ask.

"Got a problem reading?" asked Kyle. Ingrid looked up and replied.

"Yeah. Somehow I can see far ahead but I can't see anything within a foot's distance," replied Ingrid, giving a weak smile.

"You must be long-sighted. You can get Valerie to get you prescription glasses," said Kyle.

"Yeah, I should. And while speaking about sights- " Ingrid whipped out a USP .45 pistol from the bedside table and pointed at the doorway. She fired a shot, and a sound of a portable image-catcher dropped to the ground."- I believe it is too early for the Society to decide this shipping." She placed the pistol on the table, then became red-faced, realizing what she had done.

"Oh no, Valerie's gonna kill me for damaging her infirmary!" Ingrid blushed in embarrassment. Kyle burst into laughter.

"H-Hey!" stammered Ingrid. Kyle covered his mouth and settled down.

"I'm sorry, that was pretty cute," Kyle spoke out his mind. Which wasn't a wise move as he was last seen running out from the infirmary, dodging bullets from a fairly enraged British Agent.

* * *

In a very dark cave, a set of computers blipped. The 'Active' word appeared on the screens as gas started wheezing out from a nearby cryogenic chamber. The case opened, and a being came out. Naked, he stood before a blocked cave entrance. By touching the rock with a finger, the entire cave entrance blew out, allowing light to enter. The figure stood at an imposing six feet, ripped muscles and an extremely broad chest.

The being walked out, looking up at the sun and then his surroundings. It was the ruins of Site Hotel Bravo; many soldiers lay dead and the stinking smell was putrid. Smoke columns rose from scattered fire all across the base. The figure walked towards the nearest dead soldier. He took the soldier's clothes and wore them; his muscles stretching the linen and showing off his biceps. He took the soldier's M60 machine gun and slung it to his back. He then took the helmet and wore it. The visor came down, blocking the face of the Society's next big challenge.

* * *

**A/N: Thus the end of the Doug arc and the beginning of the Ingrid arc. RnR.**


End file.
